When one is painting expansive areas such as the walls of a room and the like, various type painting apparatus are available which facilitate covering as much area as possible in as short a period of time as possible while still maintaining control not only over the quality of the finished job but also over the quantity of paint being applied. For example, spraying and rolling equipment are available, but these types of paint applying apparatus do not lend themselves well to the application of paint adjacent to fixtures, wall moldings and intersecting surfaces that are to receive a different color paint, or even a different finish. In order to apply paint in as close proximity as possible to fixtures, moldings and other surfaces, but without getting paint on them, one must still resort to the conventional paintbrush.
Because of the need to use a paintbrush for such "cutting in" along intersecting edges, or around fixtures, the painter only requires intermittent usage of a paintbrush. As such, a problem exists as to where the paintbrush may be temporarily stowed when the other painting equipment is being used so as to have the paintbrush readily accessible when needed. This is a particularly important requirement when a painter is working from a ladder and/or scaffolding where space is at a premium. In such circumstances, the painter has heretofore been required to descend from the ladder, or the like, to retrieve a paintbrush, use it for the brief period of time required to "cut in", and then descend again to place it in temporary stowage until the next time it is needed.
In an attempt to obviate this inconvenience some painters have been known to lay the brush on the inclined surface of the paint tray, or lean the brush against one of the side walls with the bristles resting in the paint and with the handle resting precariously against one of the side walls of the tray. At best the bristles tend to bend throughout the period that the brush is not being used, they tend to absorb too much paint and the handle, or at least the ferrule, will more likely than not slide into the reservoir of paint contained within the tray.